Latest Training Articles

I first tried Necessary Evil in 2014 while project shopping on a trip to the Las Vegas region. I had originally arrived with the intention of trying to climb 5.14d (9a), but quickly realized, as I have many times before, that the significance of the route matters more to me than the grade.

Necessary Evil ticked all the boxes - it’s an iconic line with a rich history, it has held its grade of 5.14c (8c+) over many ascents and attempts by climbers around the world, and sits on one the USA's most stunning limestone walls. I’ll admit, the Virgin River Gorge is not the most serene locations, but the nearby highway has never bothered me, neither did the sharp crimps or bottom boulder section.

It was always the upper crux - which is actually the same crux as Route of All Evil (

Ben Moon and Jerry Moffat, legends of the climbing community, tell us how the MoonBoard is a universal phenomenon that pulls people together from all around the world. It enables people to train together and connect globally by trying out or creating their own problems on the MoonBoard App.

All in all, the MoonBoard is an exceptional way to train or climb and have great fun.

I stumbled into the Shrimpshrine, a co-op home gym in Salt Lake City. It was winter 2014. The shrine was kitted out with weights, a few hangboards, strange sideways campus boards, a stereo, and a mattress. Nik Berry, a member of the Shrine Crew, and I passed all the other equipment on our way to the garage’s Moonboard. While it snowed outside, we thrashed our fingers on the first Moonboard in the US.

The Moonboard originated in the School Room in Sheffield, a training facility for rained-out U.K. climbers. This old school building cranked out some of the strongest Brits like Ben Moon, who established Hubble at Raven Tor, the world’s first 8c+/5.14c, the exceptionally strong Stuart Cameron, Jerry Moffat who made the first ascent of Dominator (V12) in Yosemite’s Camp 4, and Malcolm Smith,